Paparazzi
by ShippingHeYa
Summary: Brittany S. Pierce is a paparazzi. Her main focus? Glee's Santana Lopez. But what happens when Brittany ends up being in charge of finding Santana's deepest secrets? [RE-EDITED AND IMPROVED]
1. Chapter 1: A Feature?

_**[[AUTHOR NOTE:]]**_

_**¤ To my old readers, who followed Paparazzi at its beginning two years ago, thank you for coming back to check out this new, re-edited, and improved version of the story. I had to make a couple of changes in order to follow the official FF guide rules, and I figured that since it had been over a year since i had last updated, you guys wouldn't mind if I started fresh. **_

_**¤ To my new readers, HIII! This is my first attempt at "unleashing my imagination" so it won't be as good as anything you may have found so far on this site, but we all started somewhere, didn't we? Please know that English is not my mother tongue, so you might encounter some spelling mistakes that I hope won't disturb your reading.**_

_**That said, I hope you guys enjoy your reading! I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback in the review or on Twitter at ShippingHeYa xox**_

_**-Lex.**_

* * *

Flashes and more flashes. Santana let out a loud sigh as she desperately tried to make her way through the mass of paparazzi outside her house. You would think she was used to it, after all it did come with the fame and her team had made sure she knew that before she signed with Sony. But no, two years later, 23-year-old Santana Lopez, hit star of FOX' hit series Glee, still couldn't believe that so many people would get up before the sun even rose just to take a few pictures of her. She internally cursed her PR team as she tried to reach her car. She knew why the paparazzi were there. For a couple of months now, her team had made it their number 1 priority to make her settle down and find her a _"handsome fiancé"._ Hence why every week, a different guy was seen leaving her house after what Santana would call another catastrophic rendezvous. She was tired. Tired of her team trying to set her up when she just wanted to have fun, tired of the reputation these never-ending dates had brought upon her. And in case that wasn't enough, her team made sure she made it to the cover of every single magazine, showing much more skin than necessary. That's another thing she was tired of. Granted, she had a rocking body, but if she had to be honest, she really would have appreciated it if her team hadn't been using her body as a promotional campaign. It's _"keeping the hype up,"_ they had told her the one time she had tried to refuse an impromptu outing at the beach in only a black bikini. So Santana went with it, by fear to lose everything she had work so hard for. As she reached her car, something caught her eye. Shielding her eyes from the flash as best as she could, she looked at the woman who had pulled her out of her thoughts. Blonde-haired, with legs that seemed to go on forever, the woman was retreating from the crowd while looking at her camera, where the shots she had just taken of the Latina probably were. Santana absentmindedly stopped for a second to look at the blonde and only resumed her walk when she felt a paparazzo bumped into her due to her brutal stop. The commotion had been enough to attract the attention of the blonde woman, who looked up only to meet Santana's gaze. She rolled her eyes and went back to her business as Santana got into her car. Blinking a couple of times to get rid of the striking image of beautiful ocean eyes, Santana shook her head and turned on the engine before heading to the studios.

The crowd of paparazzi quickly disappeared from Santana's door-step along with her, and that included a very irritated young blonde woman named Brittany. She made her way to her agency's office and gave all her recent pictures to her boss who seemed pretty content with them according to the pay check he gave her. On her way back home, the blonde thought about how she got to the place she was now. See, she had always hated celebrities, especially the arrogant ones like Santana, who seemed to take everything for granted. The Latina had a very high self-esteem, she thought no one could resist her and there was nothing that was getting on Brittany's nerves more than that. She hated her job, but living in Los Angeles was expensive and those pictures were what enabled her to pay her bills. As she opened the door to her apartment, she was attacked by her roommate, who had also been her best friend for quite a while now, Quinn.

"BRITT!" Brittany couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics. Now, THIS would be why she was where she was now. Quinn and she had been best friend since middle school. Brittany was 4 years older than Quinn but the two girls had grown up together in the same neighborhood in Arizona, and when her best friend had offered the blonde to move to LA with her after her graduation, Brittany had packed her bags right away. They had been living in Los Angeles for over a year now, but Quinn was still starstruck whenever she crossed path with anyone famous in the streets, hence the fact that Brittany knew something had happened in glamorous Hollywood as soon as she heard her best friend squeal.

"Hey. What's up?" Brittany asked, though she knew she wouldn't care at all.

"Look at the TV," Quinn replied, gesturing widely towards the object of her excitement. "It's you right there taking pictures of Santana! SANTANA LOPEZ!" Brittany looked at the TV unimpressed, then back to her best friend, before shrugging her shoulders and letting out a simple "Oh." She headed towards her kitchen to grab food with Quinn on her toe.

"Oh?" the 19-year old repeated. "You see Santana Lopez and all you've got to say is Oh?" Brittany rolled her eyes for the second time that day. Quinn was still young and unlike Brittany, her fangirl self was still very much present. Brittany had had to sit her friend down several times and make her understand that no, she couldn't go up to whichever celebrities she was taking pictures of that day her and ask for their autographs. Quinn's fangirling was even worse when it came to Glee, for she was a huge fan of the show. For Brittany, seeing celebrities had become a casual thing, it was her job after all. Whether it was Santana or a Kardashian, it was no big deal to her, they were just people. "Q, you know I can't stand her," Brittany sighed.

"Maybe," the younger girl whined. "But you've got to admit she's hot," Quinn said wiggling her eyebrows, making Brittany laugh. Though her best friend was straight, she had always been very open when it came to saying whether or not girls were attractive.

"You won't ever change, will you?" Brittany smiled, shaking her head.

"Nope," Quinn laughed. "But that's why you love me."

* * *

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Quinn asked when Brittany emerged from a well-deserved nap later that day. Brittany shrugged saying she had no idea since she was probably going to be working all night. It was Friday night, and celebrities were going to go clubbing and get wasted again. Brittany would have taken Quinn along, but she was still underage, at least for these clubs.

"I think you know how to have fun on your own anyway," the blonde said when Quinn claimed she was bored. When the younger girl raised a perfect eyebrow as to tell her to elaborate, Brittany added, "Remember that hot guy I saw you with yesterday?" The blonde laughed as her best friend's cheeks turned red and she started stuttering that he was just a guy she had met at the diner she worked at down the street and that she may be seeing again soon. Brittany doubled in laughter as Quinn hid her face in her hands, completely embarrassed by her lack of coherence.

After her laughter had died down, Brittany dropped the subject and asked her best friend to order pizza for dinner while she quickly hopped in the shower. Once done, the blonde laid on her bed for a moment, thinking back to her life so far. She was trying to fight. Fight for her best friend Quinn, because she was everything she had here in Los Angeles. She had left everything else behind her when she had moved. Her roots were still in Arizona, her family, her sisters, her friends. Her job paid well, and Quinn was also getting some money out of her part time job as a waitress at the diner, but it was still getting harder and harder to pay for the bills, the food and just every day's utilities. She was working a bit more and more with every day, often during nights, to take pictures of Santana and sometimes of other people. Her boss wanted her to focus on Santana to try and get some inside scoop and Brittany hoped it would happen, because the girl couldn't be perfect after all. But nothing big had ever happened. Santana was getting in and out her house with a different guy every other night, but that was already old news. She had just gotten dressed when Quinn called her to dinner. As her best friend put the latest Glee DVD in the player, Brittany knew it was her cue to leave. She made her way through the crazy L.A. traffic and parked near Santana's house. It was a bit early when she got here so the place wasn't too crowded yet. Sitting in her car, she was hoping something would happen. But once again, she finished her night outside a club, taking pictures of random celebrities because there had been no sign of Santana anywhere. Tomorrow would be the day, that's what Brittany told herself as she put her camera back in its bag, sat in the driver seat and took off.

When Brittany reached her apartment building and parked her car, she noticed a shadow near her building's entrance. She frowned as she got out of her car. Who could be out there at such a time of night? She took her purse and her camera bag before locking her car. The closer she got, the clearer the silhouette was. Their shoulders were violently shaking and rather familiar sobs were escaping from their mouth. Brittany took her phone and used it to get some light. Sure enough, Quinn was sitting there, crying her heart out as she waited for Brittany. The blonde immediately crouched down and took the sobbing girl in her arms. Once the young girl's breathing had slowed down, Brittany stood up and reached for her hand, urging her to get inside where it was way warmer. The young woman sniffled and got in eventually. After a couple of stairs, the two girls reached their apartment. Quinn sat on the couch in the living room and Brittany soon joined her with a blanket, two pillows and two cups of hot chocolate. Quinn smiled through the tears. She was thankful to have found Brittany. She had always been there for her, through every heart break. Brittany snuggled against the short-haired girl and covered their two bodies with a blanket. It took some time and some more crying, but somehow Brittany managed to get the entire story. The guy Quinn had met at the diner had texted her earlier in the evening and she had told him to come over. The girl had been overjoyed to see him, as she had realized she had really taken a liking in the guy. They had watched some TV together and talk about everything and anything. But after a while, things had gotten serious and Sam –that was his name- had admitted that one of his motives when he had first talked to her was to get info on Brittany, for he knew they were friends.

"Me? Why me? I don't even know him," Brittany had objected mid-speech. Quinn had simply shushed her and asked her to let her finish. Sam was apparently a journalist and had been wanting to meet Brittany for a while about a project of his.

"He said you should meet him at the pub around the block at 2:00 PM tomorrow," Quinn shared. "Then he just got up, kissed my cheek and left, saying he had still a lot of work to do."

Brittany's first opinion of the guy was that he was a douche for using her best friend to get to her. She made sure to note somewhere in her brain to tell the guy the next day to be honest with Quinn if it turned out that he really was into her after all. Because yes, she was going to show up at this meeting and get to the bottom of whatever this was, at least for the sake of her best friend who now thought her new crush had a crush on someone else.

* * *

Once Brittany was sure that Quinn would be fine on her own, the two ladies went to their respective bedrooms to get some good hours of sleep in. Brittany got ready for the night and sneaked under the blanket. A lot of questions were going through her mind. Who was that Sam guy? Why did he want to see her? And how did he even know her? The blonde barely slept that night. After waking up for the fourth time at 7:30 AM, she decided going back to sleep would be useless and instead, fixed herself and Quinn a consequent breakfast. Her young friend got up a few minutes later.

"Please, tell me it's coffee and bacon that I smell so I don't kill you for making so much noise so early in the morning?" Quinn grunted as she arrived in the kitchen. If there was one thing that Quinn wasn't, it was definitively a morning person.

"Why, yes, ma'am, yes it is," Brittany replied in her best British accent. She smiled as she saw she hint of a smile appear on her best friend's face.

The two ate breakfast in silence, the blonde knowing better than to bring out the meeting with Sam into the conversation. Quinn was probably even more nervous about the meeting than Brittany was. As Brittany announced she was going to work, Quinn teased her about visiting her new best friend Santana. The blonde shook her head, knowing full well that Quinn's words had a double meaning. Her job was taking away all of her free time and she was now spending more time taking pictures of the Latina than hanging out with Quinn. It was killing her but she had no other choice. Brittany took her keys, kissed her friend forehead and left, closing the door behind her. It was an habit they had taken over the years, a way for them to show how much they cared for each other. It was only 10:30 AM when she reached Santana's house but there were already tons of photographers in front of the house. Brittany parked a few streets away, took her camera and walked the rest of the way. She sat outside the house with everyone else. She needed pictures to give her boss, yet Miss Lopez had apparently decided to sleep in. Brittany had been waiting for half an hour, she was fed up and all she wanted was to go home and have lunch. But she had to pay the bills, and so she had to wait longer.

After about an hour, Santana finally came out, quickly followed by a young man, who caught everyone's attention, including Brittany's. The young woman was sure she recognized the guy, but she couldn't confront him now though she and the other paparazzi had gotten closer to try and catch a glimpse of the pair's conversation. Santana and the blond man shook hands before parting ways. The brunette kept a straight face as she headed to her car. Chocolate brown met ocean blue as Santana spotted Brittany in the crowd once again. The Latina smirked at the blonde. Brittany couldn't help but wonder what Santana wanted and why she was looking at her like that. There was no way Brittany was going to smile back, so she turned away and went back to her car. Santana was surprised by the blonde's indifference but made sure not to show it as she got into her car and drove away. Brittany was fuming by now. Who did Santana think she was? She got to the agency to drop the new candids and came out with a check with a couple of zeros on it, probably thanks to Santana's male friend. It was getting late. Brittany made a quick stop by the grocery store to grab something to eat and headed to the pub Sam had set the meeting at, mentally going through everything she wanted to ask him.


	2. Chapter 2: A Bet?

Once she reached the pub, Brittany's first reflex was to look around for Sam. She vaguely knew what he looked like after Quinn had shown her a picture she had taken of him the first time they met and exchanged numbers. Though he was not her type, Brittany had to admit the young man was quite handsome. Fit silhouette, sandy blond hair, blue eyes, she could see why Quinn had taken a liking in him. When she looked around a second time and didn't spot the man, she decided to order a coffee and took the time to check out the place. It was fancy, but yet again, it was located in quite a nice area. The people seemed nice, too, so it definitively helped to calm some of her nerves. As a waitress came back with her order, Sam walked through the door. Brittany thanked the woman before standing up and waving at the guy.

"Hey," Sam said as he approached the table. He stopped a waitress on his way to order a coffee and made his way to Brittany, holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Sam. Sam Evans."

On second thought, there was a thing that bothered Brittany about Sam: his lips. The guy was smiling big, and it seemed to Brittany as if his lips were taking half of his face. Honestly, who had lips that big? Clearing her throat, Brittany shook his hand and introduced herself. "Brittany. Brittany Pierce."

"Oh I know," Sam laughed as he invited Brittany to sit down again. "You've made yourself quite a big name among us over the past year or so." When Brittany raised a questioning eyebrow –skill she had mastered after seeing Quinn do it a thousand times– Sam took it as a sign to continue. "See, I'm a photographer, just like you and as you know, there are only a few women who are up for the job. Being one of the most efficient ones, every one of us knows your name now, and that's actually the reason why I wanted to see you."

"Is this really going to be about work?" Brittany cut him short. She didn't mean to sound rude but she was tired and work was the last thing she wanted to talk about. She had thought the work project had only been an excuse for the guy to meet her and get some advice on Quinn. She just wanted to get this over with so she could go home.

"Well yeah that and... Quinn," Sam said carefully, fearing to upset the blonde even more. Brittany's face softened at the mention of her best friend and she nodded at Sam to continue. "So as I was saying, I work for a magazine, and I have been asked to make a big feature about Santana Lopez since she is our Special Anniversary Edition cover girl. They usually want stuff about her life, her family, about what she likes and dislikes and all those kind of random stuff so we can make out an sort of interview. But this time, the magazine wants more. They want exclusive scoops, breakout news and that's when you come into play. I mean, if you're willing to help me, of course. I've heard your boss has put you on a rather similar job and I thought maybe we could work together."

Brittany smiled. She had done a bit of research before the meeting and had found out Sam worked for Seventeen Magazine. Now, this could be a big opportunity for her. Maybe it could even get her a job at the firm, which she knew paid way more than her current job and was way more interesting. After a couple of minutes of thinking this through, she looked back at Sam. "Alright. What would you need from me exactly?"

The young man smiled widely when Brittany replied she was up for the job. "Well, I know that for the past six months or so, you've been working more on Santana than on anyone else. So I thought maybe you might know her habits, the places she's used to going to, the people she hangs out with and stuff."

"That's true," Brittany confirmed, nodding her head. "But I thought you knew who she hanged out with? After all, it was you that she was with this morning."

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "It was more of a formal meeting than anything else; she wanted to hear about the feature, and about the photo shoot that will go along with it."

There was a brief silence as the pair finished their drink. Clearing his throat, Sam looked up, his cheeks slightly redder than they had previously been. "So… About Quinn…"

Brittany looked up from her drink and smirked, seeing the guy fidgeting in his seat, not knowing where to start. She wasn't going to help him out, if he wanted the 'best friend approval', he was going to have to earn it. She simply hummed, waiting for Sam to find his words.

"Did she… did she tell you something… or anything at all? About… about me, I mean?" Sam looked flushed, clearly mad at himself for not making any sense.

The blonde woman smirked. "Maybe," she said, dragging the last syllable. "Or maybe not, who knows," she shrugged. When she saw Sam's begging look, she cave in. "Okay, I'm going to be honest. Though going through her to get to me was not really your best move, I do think you have a shot with her. If that's what you want, of course."

Sam nodded his head quickly; hanging on to every word Brittany spoke. "YES!" he said a bit too excitingly. "I mean, it is… it is what I want… she's really pretty." Brittany laughed as the same red she had spotted on her best friend's cheeks the day before made its way to Sam's face.

"Well, as it turns out, she's sort of into you too," Brittany stated as Sam's eyes sparkled hopefully. "You should come around for dinner tonight, that way you can see her again and be a bit smoother, because at the moment, she thinks it's me you're crushing on."

Making sure he had nothing planned already –and knowing full well that he would have canceled said plans if that had been the case anyway- Sam accepted the invitation. Brittany took a napkin and scribbled her number and address on it. "Come over around 7, okay? I'll make sure to keep your visit a surprise until the last minute."

Sam thanked her again before apologizing because he had to go back to work and tell his boss about Brittany's new involvement in the project. The blonde guy paid for both of their drinks, pulled Brittany into a friendly hug and headed out the door.

* * *

Leaving the pub, Brittany decided to go shopping, since this new development allowed her to take off work for the afternoon. It was only 2:30pm and she wanted to take advantages of the rest of her day. She was happy to do that article on Santana, because even if she didn't like the Latina, she would get her good money out of it. She decided to text Quinn to let her know about the slight change of plans.

**TO Q:** Got some free time. Wanna join me at the mall for some window shopping? x

**FROM Q:** Aren't you supposed working? I'll be there in 5. xox

**TO Q:** There's been a change of plans. I'll be waiting at Starbucks. See you soon x

As the girls lived near the mall, it didn't take long for Quinn to get there. Brittany had already ordered her favorites for her, a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream along with a banana chocolate chip muffin. Her friend was sipping on her drink and checking her phone when Quinn arrived, so she decided to surprise her. "Hey Britt!" she said as she hugged her friend from behind.

Brittany flinched at the unexpected hug but soon relaxed into the embrace. As her best friend hugged her back, Quinn couldn't help but think about how good it felt to finally be able to spend time with the girl. Quinn knew Brittany was working her butt off for her, and she couldn't help but feel like it was her fault if the two of them had been drifting apart. The younger girl thanked Brittany for the drink as she sat down in front of her. The two spent over an hour sitting in the coffee shop, catching up of life. Brittany had filled Quinn in on her meeting with Sam, purposefully leaving out the dinner part. Quinn had seemed quite reassured when Brittany confirmed the young man really was into Quinn in the first place and hadn't only used her to reach the blonde.

The two friends then went shopping, trying on several outfits they knew they couldn't afford just for the fun of it and each buying a dress for the other. Brittany had told Quinn she had a surprise for her, hence the reason why she needed a new dress. It had been hard, but the oldest blonde had resisted her best friend's pout and hadn't caved in when she begged for details on their way home.

Quinn had eventually shrugged and shoulders and given up, knowing that when her friend set her mind to something, there was no going back.

* * *

At 6:55 PM, the bell rang. _Punctual, good point for you Sam,_ Brittany thought as she yelled at her best friend to get whoever was at the door because she wasn't done cooking yet. The younger girl, who had been anxiously waiting all evening to know what her surprise was, did a last check-up on her hair and make-up before literally running towards the door, making Brittany laugh and shake her head from the kitchen. But instead of hearing her best friend squeal of excitement as she had supposed Quinn would do when she saw Sam, the opening of the door was followed by an awkward silence.

"You're not my surprise, are you?" she heard her best friend ask the stranger at the door. Perplexed, Brittany washed her hands and headed towards the living room. "Britt, I think this one's for you," Quinn said as she spotted her best friend. She turned her back to whoever was at the door and Brittany saw a billion emotions flash at once on her best friend's face, including shock, confusion and… excitement?

Brittany frowned wondering who else but Sam, who was the only person she had invited, would show up at their place this late. As Brittany reached the door, she stopped dead in track. Sure enough, right there in front of her, stood Santana Lopez in person. For a couple of seconds, no word made its way out of the blonde's mouth. Quinn cut the awkward silence by clearing her throat and excusing herself to "let the two women talk". She silently retreated to her room after saying goodbye to the pop star. After another stare down between the blonde and the Latina, this latter finally spoke.

"Are you going to let me in or are you going to let me stand here all night?" Brittany snapped out her trance when she heard the girl's hard tone.

"What do you want?" the blonde asked back with the same tone, completely ignoring the Latina's question and not letting her in.

"To talk, obviously," Santana replied, rolling her eyes. "Can I come in? It's freezing out there, in case you hadn't noticed." Brittany huffed and moved inside, opening the door a bit wider to let the singer in. As much as she disliked the Latina, she was right, it was freezing outside and she wasn't that bad of a person. The blonde offered Santana to sit on the couch as she sat at its opposite end, as far away from the other woman as possible. It was their first actual face to face meeting, and yet the atmosphere was already tense.

Brittany sat there for a minute, shifting uncomfortably in her seat under the Latina's stare. When she finally looked up, she didn't immediately meet Santana's gaze, for it was looking downwards to a lower part of the blonde's body. Brittany cleared her throat, which made the dark-haired woman realize she had been caught leering. "So, what do I owe the honor of seeing you here to?" the blonde asked ironically.

"I know you're working on an article about me," Santana simply shrugged.

Brittany's eyebrows shot up, wondering how on earth the Latina could already know about that. _Words really did travel fast in the business_. The two girls were interrupted by a knock at the door. Brittany opened the door to discover Sam. With no further explanation as to why Santana was there, the blonde lead Sam to Quinn's room, from where she heard a squeal a few moments later. Brittany smiled before making her way back to the living room where Santana sat right where she left her. The blonde picked up the conversation where they'd left it."And….?" she asked, wondering where the Latina had been getting at.

"I don't like it," Santana said as she got up and began pacing across the room, making Brittany dizzy. "I know you're going to follow me around to try, like every other journalists, to find something shocking about me, that you will then sell to a bunch of idiots to round up your month, pay your rent, buy a car or whatever the hell you'll do with that money. Well let me tell you one thing," she added while walking up to the blonde who had stood up and invading her space. "You will find nothing."

The two girls were now standing less than two steps apart, and Santana has her pointer finger on the blonde, trying to be threatening. Brittany wasn't having it though. She wasn't impressed by Santana so she pushed her arm down and walked a step closer. "Oh yeah?" she provoked.

After a moment of hesitation because of the girl's new-found confidence, Santana gained back her composure. "There are hundreds of paparazzi like you, who are following me every day, and no one ever found anything. So if you believe a girl like you can discover something about Santana Lopez, you're more than wrong, sweetie."

Brittany was fuming by now. Who did Santana think she was, coming to HER place, UNINVITED, to yell at her for doing her job? Trying not to cause a scene in the building at this time of night, the blonde took a step back, took a deep breath, and replied gritting her teeth. "First of all, don't call me sweetie. Secondly, I dislike having to do this article just as much as I dislike you and lastly, if I want to find something about the oh-so-perfect Santana Lopez, I will." She then mimicked the brunette's earlier actions, and put her finger menacingly on the Latina's chest. "You do NOT scare me."

Santana's mouth opened and closed, trying to find words that had clearly left her mind. To say she was surprised was an understatement. She thought that by coming here herself, she'd get Brittany not to do that stupid paper. She was okay with Sam, not that she really had a choice since her PR team was the one who had set up the interview and feature. But now she knew she had just made things worse. She was pretty sure of herself, Brittany would never find anything… she just couldn't. out of words, Santana walked past the blonde and to the front door, Brittany on her toes.

"I guess there's not much more to say, is there? I bet you won't find any of my secrets."

Brittany smiled to herself at what Santana had just admitted; she indeed had secrets that she kept hidden, now she just had to find them. "Well..." the blonde started, smiling at what she was about to say. "I bet you that I will find your secrets within the first month."

Santana laughed out loudly. "Game on," she replied with a smirk. "But if I win, you will have to spend an entire night with me, in my bed, if you know what I mean."

Brittany looked at her with a disgust look of her face. Of course, it was known to the world that Santana was bisexual; the girl had never hid it when asked about it. But yet again, she was more seen with guys than girls so people used to forget about that detail. Santana was one of these girls who weren't afraid to say out loud what everything thought though. She had been really open about her sexuality. It scared Brittany. She wasn't gay and the thought of Santana wanting her in her bed that way was scaring her.

"Alright, but as you won't win this thing, you can forget about it," Brittany said, trying to regain confidence. "And if I win, you'll have to spill out all of your secrets, every single one of them, the deepest ones so I can make another juicy article about you."

"Wow. Work is really the only thing that matter to you, clearly," Santana said, amused.

"Wow. Sex is really the only thing that matter to you, clearly," Brittany bit back.

Santana smiled. She had to admit, the blonde had guts and it was hot. Brittany smiled, certain she could win this bet. As she closed the door, she heard a noise from the back of the room. When she turned around, she saw two heads pocking out of Quinn's room.

"Is it safe to come out?" Sam joked, making Brittany laugh. The young woman felt like all the tension had been released from her body all of a sudden.

"Yeah, Sam. She's gone now, it's all good." The pair opened the door fully, and Brittany couldn't help but smile when she noticed their joined hands as they walked into the room. "I'm going to leave you two here and go to bed, I'm exhausted." Brittany let out a yawn as to confirm what she had just said. "Dinner's ready, you two just have to set the table."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Quinn asked, not wanting her best friend to feel like a burden.

"No thanks, Santana gave me an headache," Brittany replied. "But, have a great night, guys," she added as she hugged her best friend good night.

The photographer went to her room and let herself fall on her bed. What the heck had crossed her mind when she had made that bet with Santana, of all people? She had to win this, because spending a night with the Latina was not even thinkable for her. She hated her more than anything. She was vain, arrogant and so full of herself. All she was thinking about was sleeping with her and adding her to her long list of one night stands. As Brittany was finally about to fall asleep a couple of hours later, she heard the front door open and close again, announcing Sam's departure. A few seconds later, she heard her best friend knock softly on her door. "Thank you Britt, I owe you." Brittany smiled one last time before drifting into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3: A coffee?

This had to be the worst sleep the Brittany had ever gotten. She knew Santana enough by now, and what Santana wanted, Santana got. But there was no way the Latina would get what she wanted this time, and there was absolutely no freaking way the blonde would get in her bed. After waking up for the billionth time, Brittany gave up on sleep and got ready for the day. She was almost done cooking breakfast when Quinn exited her room.

"Morning," Quinn said in a yawn.

"Good morning," the older blonde replied, smiling at the sight of her still sleepy best friend. She nodded her head towards a chair, before putting a plate full of bacon and eggs –but mostly bacon- in front of her now-very-awake best friend. _The wonders of bacon_, Brittany thought as she ordered Quinn to eat before sitting down in front of her. After finishing her breakfast and putting her plate in the sink, Quinn sat on the couch in front of Brittany, knowing full well she had a little while before this latter would have to go to work.

Breaking the peaceful silence, Quinn asked something that had been on her mind since the previous night, the few words exchanged between her friend and the Latina pop star still fresh in her mind. Sam had told her his assumption as to why the Latina was there, but Quinn wanted to hear it from her best friend. "So, why was Santana here? I mean like, how did she even know where we live and what did she want from you?"

"Ugh, don't mention her please," Brittany grumbled, not looking up from her phone. "I know you love her on Glee Q, and I respect that, but that girl really is a bitch in real life." When her best friend's eyebrows knit together, Brittany went on telling her everything that had happened the day before, reminding her about the feature and telling her about the bet.

"So, basically, Santana totally has it bad for you?" Quinn questioned once the blonde had finished talking.

"Wait, what? NO!" Brittany sighed annoyingly. "Quinn, did you even hear a word of what I just said? I hate her, and she hates me just a much."

"But she still wants you in her bed though," Quinn shrugged as if her theory obviously made sense. Brittany shook her head, knowing full well that her best friend wouldn't drop the subject even if she tried her best to convince her.

"I have to go to work," she eventually said getting up from the couch to retrieve her handbag and camera.

Quinn could sense that her friend was upset. She followed her to the door before pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered before letting go. Brittany sent her a small smile in return before leaving the house. But that small smile Brittany had sent her was enough for Quinn to know they were going to be okay.

* * *

It was only 9 by the time she reached Santana's place but she expected people to be there already, waiting for the Latina to come out with her new boyfriend of the week. But to her biggest surprise, the street was empty. The blonde had gotten out of her car to have a better look, but there wasn't a single soul around.

"Waiting for somebody?" Brittany jumped as the voice startled her. She recognized it right away and as she turned around, she was met with a sight of Santana that she had never seen before.

The Latina had her hair up in a straight ponytail and was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap to shield her from either the sun or from the paparazzi. Moving her gaze downwards, Brittany saw the singer was only wearing a red sports bra and some white shorts which, had they been even just a tiny bit shorter, would have shown the beginning of her butt. As she looked back up, the blonde couldn't help but stare at the Latina's well-defined abs, that were covered in a slight layer of sweat, thus informing Brittany that Santana had probably just gotten back from a morning run. When her eyes finally reached the other girl's face again, she saw Santana smirk. Brittany wondered for a moment just how long she had been staring.

"Do you need some more time checking me out, or do you want to come in and have coffee?" Santana chuckled.

Brittany raised an eyebrow as to ask the girl if she was serious. "Yesterday, you told me you didn't like me and now you're inviting me to take a coffee at your place? What's wrong with you?"

"I never said I didn't like you," Santana replied, clicking her tongue. "I just said I didn't like paparazzi."

"This is the same thing since I'm one of them," Brittany snapped back.

"But you're different." It was barely a whisper, so low that Brittany wasn't sure she had heard right. Santana sighed, knowing there was no point arguing with the blonde so early in the morning. "Listen, do you want to come in or not?" Due to the lack of response from the confused blonde, Santana crossed the street and unlocked her front door. She lingered in the entrance for a minute to see whether or not the blonde would follow her. As Brittany looked up and saw the girl waiting on her, she made a decision. Crossing the street, she entered the Latina's house before hearing her closing the door behind her.

"Have a seat, I'll go get change quickly and then I'll get us coffee." With Santana gone, Brittany took a chance to look around.

The singer's place was huge compared to hers, and yet the place looked really comfy. The furniture was mostly made of wood and not of plastic and flashy colors as these new trends had them. It felt like… home. She could see Santana had made the place its own, for pictures of her parents, and who she assumed were her family and friends were hanging on the walls. As the blonde neared the fire place, a picture caught her eyes. Santana was on display, hugging a little boy who looked just like her tightly. Brittany had never seen the Latina smile the way she did on that picture. She seemed so happy and carefree, just like that little boy next to her. As she heard Santana's footsteps come back towards her, the blonde put the framed picture down and went to sit on the couch.

Santana entered the room with a tray that she set up on a table before sitting down next to the blonde. "I like my coffee black, but I brought sugar and milk, since I didn't know how you liked it."

"Thanks," Brittany softly replied. The Latina was so confusing to her. How could she go from obnoxious and rude one day, to sweet and caring the next one?

"So what were you doing around here, anyway? Your little friends left ages ago," the brunette laughed before continuing. "I guess running around following people isn't really their thing after all."

Brittany chuckled, knowing full well that most of her co-workers couldn't even run to save their life. They had probably snapped a couple of pictures and left as soon as the Latina had started running. "I needed pictures. The bills aren't going to pay themselves, you know."

"So basically, you needed me?" The blonde shuddered at the sudden change of tone in the brunette's voice. It was deeper, raspier, and definitively closer to her than it had previously been. As she turned her head towards Santana, she realized that indeed, the Latina was now only inches away from her.

Deciding that two could play this game, Brittany leaned a bit closer. If she was going to work with the girl for the next few weeks, she might as well have fun with it. Screw the consequences. "Maybe."

It was Santana's turn to shudder and a moment later, Brittany saw something flicker in the Latina's eyes, right before she moved back to her previous position and cleared her throat. "Don't fall for me," she whispered.

Wanting to break the awkward silence that followed the brunette's plea, Brittany got up and went by the fireplace, picking up the picture which had caught her attention earlier. "Who's that little cutie?" she asked showing the picture to Santana.

"That's my nephew, Mateo. He looks adorable on that picture," Santana smiled softly.

"Yes, and he's not the only one." Brittany had said that out loud, wanting to lift the other girl's mood a bit. She knew she had succeeded when the corners of the brunette's mouth tugged a bit higher. Checking her phone, Brittany realized that it had already been two hours and that she should really leave. "I'm gonna get going and let you relax a bit."

The blonde could swear Santana's smile faltered for a second but it was so quick that a moment later, the singer was walking her to the door with a big smile on her face.

As soon as Santana opened the door, flashes blinded her. Paparazzi had finally made their way back to Santana's house and were now photographing the two girls by the door. It felt weird to the blonde to be the one in front of the camera and not behind it. Santana quickly closed the door again as she felt the girl tense at the overwhelming sensation.

"See what you're making me go through every day?" Santana laughed, making Brittany visibly relax.

"Well, I got bills to pay," the blonde replied. "I'm sorry we're putting you through this, though."

"It's okay, I grew used to it," the brunette smiled, squeezing Brittany's forearm softly. "You're ready?"

When the blonde nodded, Santana opened the door again, and Brittany ran to her car. In the meanwhile, Santana was trying to get back into her house but paparazzi were blocking her way, asking her a billion questions about Brittany.

_"Who's that girl?"_

_"Is she your new girlfriend?"_

_"Where did you girls meet?"_

And more were thrown at her right and left. Santana didn't bother replying and made her way through the paparazzi to reach the door. She was thoughtful. She had been sure Brittany wouldn't discover any of her secrets, but that confidence she had once had was already starting to fade.

* * *

To say Brittany's brain was going 100 miles an hour as she left the Latina's house would have been an understatement. This was a whole new Santana that the blonde had met inside. The sweet, caring Santana, who Brittany wasn't sure she hated that much anymore. Considering her new job's arrangements, the blonde knew having spent half of her morning in the Latina's house was more than enough for the day. As she ringed her best friend, she found out that Quinn had spent the morning with Sam and that a friend was just about to join them. Feeling bad for the friend who was obviously going to be playing the third wheel all morning long, Brittany decided to go grocery shopping and head home to save them. Little did she know who said friend was though. When the one and only Santana Lopez was the one she spotted in her kitchen making coffee while Quinn and Sam were being all mushy on the couch, the blonde's eyebrows shot up.

"Hey," she said hesitantly to the brunette. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Sam asked me to go over to his house to ask me a couple of questions," she replied. But as I was making my way there, he called me again to tell me to come here instead since Quinn had asked him to come over and he couldn't say no," she laughed, air quoting the last few words. "Obviously, as you may have seen in the living room, his plans have changed."

Brittany felt bad for the Latina who had obviously been hiding in the kitchen for some time now. "Maybe..." she started. "Maybe…. Since, you know… Sam and I are working together…"

The singer chuckled at the lack of cohesion of the blonde. She put a hand on her forearm as to relax her. "Britt, relax. It's just me." Brittany shuddered. She wasn't sure if it was the lack of distance between the two of them, or if it was the Latina's hand stroking her arm up and down, or the fact that Santana had just called her Britt. All she knew was that she liked it. Way too much.

"Maybe I could be the one asking you a couple of questions, that way you didn't come here for nothing."

"Okay, sure, let's go!"

"Umm... wh-where?" Brittany stuttered again.

"To another room?" The Latina smiled. "Unless of course, you want to do this here and hear the lovebirds make out all along," she continued.

"Right," Brittany let out in a nervous laugh. She nodded her head before telling the other girl to follow her. Her place wasn't as big as Santana's so there wasn't an office or a work room she could take her to. The living room being obviously occupied, and the kitchen being too close, that left only one room besides the bathroom, said room being the blonde's own bedroom. Not wanting to intrude the girl's privacy, because after all she did have manners, Santana stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. She couldn't help but notice the lack of colors and furniture in the girl's room. It was blank, and Santana was sure there was a reason for it. But she also knew it was none of her business. After Brittany told Santana to sit on the bed, she grabbed a block note and a pen and sat down next to the brunette. The first couple of questions seemed automatic and awkward, too awkward for Santana's liking. She stared at Brittany and after a while stated that if they were going to work together, they might as well act friendly towards each other. After that, the two girls relaxed and the conversation flew easily. The pair surprisingly got along pretty well, so much that a couple of hours later, the two girls were laughing like crazy at some old stories about Quinn and Sam.

"She did what?" the pop star said, whipping some tears.

"She cut her hair, dyed it pink and joined that group called the skanks. The girl went cray cray."

The Latina was still laughing hard, holding her stomach. "So you're telling me that Quinn went from celibacy club to the skanks in a matter of like, a year?" When Brittany nodded, the singer doubled in laughter and fully laid down on Brittany's bed. The blonde, whose pen and block note had long been forgotten on the floor, followed suit while making sure to keep as much distance as she could between her and Santana. The bed being small, their arms still brushed from time to time, making both of the women's breath hitch. After their laughter had died down, the two girls laid silently, stealing glances at each other until their gaze actually met. Both girls blushed but none of them looked away. On the contrary, it only seemed to draw the two girls' faces closer. Their moment was broken when at noon, Sam came knocking on Brittany's door, reminding Santana that she had told him she had stuff to do in the afternoon.

Santana hummed in response, but made no sign to move. She was still too lost in ocean eyes. "I should go," she said in a whisper.

"You should," Brittany said, though both girls were wishing for something else. Without another word, Brittany stood up before holding a hand out to help the brunette up. Both were very aware that the hug they shared as Santana stood up lasted a little bit too long, and that they were still holding hands as Brittany led Santana to the door, but neither of them seemed to care.


	4. Chapter 4: A Past?

**[[AUTHOR NOTE]] **

**Hey lovelies! So sorry for the delay! I had finals to take and things to figure out but now I'm back.**

**I'm not totally proud of this chapter, to be honest there's a big part of it that i debated erasing for a while but yeah, a little background was needed for Britt. Also, hold on tight, we're meeting Mateo next chapter, and you're going to fall in love with that bundle of joy :) **

**Enjoy! x**

* * *

Brittany had now been lying on her bed for two hours, in an utter silence. She was aware that her phone had buzzed, and that someone –probably a neighbor since Quinn was out with Sam for another couple of hours– had knocked on her door. Still, she hadn't moved. So many thoughts were racing through her mind that she was sure that standing up would only make her head spin faster than it already did. Santana. Santana Lopez was the reason why she was there right now. This afternoon spent with her had left her even more confused than she had previously been. Confused and hurting. After a couple of questions, Santana had suggested they should relax and the interview had turned into a 20 questions game, game during which Santana had discovered about one person from the blonde's past that she had been trying to leave back in Arizona: Arthur Abrams. It had been three years now since she had last seen her ex-boyfriend. Three years of trying to forget his face, and especially that one night.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

* * *

Arthur and Brittany had thrown a huge party to celebrate Arthur's 21st birthday. There was about a hundred people there, some very loud music, and alcohol, a lot of alcohol. Thing was, Arthur's parents were some very high profile people so none of their neighbors ever stood up to them, too afraid of what they could do. Arthur was taking full advantage of it and threw his money around by hosting a big party every other week. Brittany was taking advantage of it, too. She had drunk a bit more than she should have. She wasn't feeling too good but she had promised herself she'd be there for as long as the party was still going on, after all it was her boyfriend's birthday and she knew the word would go around if she left early. What she didn't know was that Arthur had been watching her. In fact, he was the one who had made sure her cup was always full in order to be able to make Brittany his birthday present. See, he had been with the blonde for 6 months now, and they still hadn't slept together. Anytime he'd initiate something, she would stop him, pretending to be "tired", or "not ready". Arthur was tired of her act and of having to go around bars to get some release, so he had decided it would happen. That night. Whether Brittany would be able to remember it or not. When he saw the blonde stumbling and falling on the closest couch, he knew it was time.

"Brittany, come on let's go upstairs" he told her, gently grabbing her wrist and speaking loud enough for her to hear him through the music.

"What? Why? I don't want to sleep, i want to partyyyy!" Brittany had replied, shouting the last word to the crowd of people dancing and laughing around the house. Arthur had smiled. She was really so drunk, she wouldn't be able to stop him tonight.

"Babe, I just want some alone time with you. Just you and me, baby." Arthur gave the blonde a loving look, stroke her hand a couple of times, and when he saw her eyes soften, he knew he had her. The dark-haired man smirked and went to his room while Brittany was getting another drink. This was it. He was finally going to get what he had been waiting for for so long and win that bet he had made with his friend.

When Brittany finally made her way upstairs –after drinking her nth drink of the night while chatting with some friends– she found Arthur waiting for her in his room, shirtless. At the first the blonde didn't think much of it; after all it really was hot in the house. She made her way to the bed, tripping a couple of times because of stuff on the floor. When she made it, she laid next to her boyfriend and snuggled into him.

"What did you want to talk about babe?" she asked in a yawn, letting her eyes close and rest for a minute.

"Do we really have to talk?" Arthur smirked, nudging Brittany's shoulder playfully for her to stay awake a little longer.

And that's when Brittany had made her biggest mistake: asking what else they could do. Arthur had pushed a hand underneath Brittany's top so fast that he had unclasped the blonde's bra before she could even understand what that "little idea" he had whispered he had was.

"DON'T!" Brittany screamed, pushing Arthur's hand away and standing up for the bed. "I don't want to do that. Not yet. You know that I'm not ready. I want to wait."

Brittany knew she had said the wrong thing when Arthur's eyes narrowed, his face turned red with anger and his hands bawled into fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"Wait? That's all I've been fucking doing Brittany. I've been waiting for 6 fucking months! 6 MONTHS! You should have known I wouldn't wait forever." Arthur saw he had caught Brittany's attention when she winced at the tone of his voice before looking up in confusion.

"What… what do you mean?" She asked in a whisper.

Arthur let out a loud laugh. "Let's just say Brenda, Mary or even Lydia made the wait easier."

"You... " It was all Brittany could mutter before falling to the ground in sobs. She couldn't even have found the words if she had tried. She couldn't believe that the sweet gentle Arthur she had met in high school could have been so cruel with her, cruel enough to cheat of her... multiple times. The thought made Brittany sob even harder. She was hurt, broken. Every pieces of this relationship that she had spent the last 6 months building were now falling apart.

"You really thought I would have waited like a nice little boy until Miss Virgin over here would have the decency to sleep with me? Oh please."

"You disgust me," Brittany choked up. With the little strength that was left in her body, she stood back up and headed to the door. "I don't want to ever see you again," she spat before turning the door knob to leave the room.

She winced again as a hand grabbed her wrist hard. "That's fine by me," she heard the man say right behind her. "But first, we have some unfinished business to attend," he continued, dragging her back to the bed.

"Let me go." Brittany tried to push him away, but her body and mind were too weak to put up a proper fight.

"No way. I didn't wait 6 months for nothing," he replied replied angrily; "I'll make you mine. TONIGHT!" He almost shouted the last word, tightening his grip on Brittany.

He pushed her down the bed and straddled her. Brittany tried her best to escape his grip, throwing punches whenever and wherever she could but Arthur still wouldn't let go. Thankfully, in a moment of inattention, as he finally let go of her hands to unzip his own pants, Brittany succeeded to hit him. She didn't wait to see how much damage she had actually done, his painful scream being enough to know he wouldn't be able to come after her. She ran away from the room, from the party and from the house as fast as she could. She was still crying, the cold wind hitting the pale skin that her now ripped shirt was now showing with every step she took. She ran and ran until she reached her house, and never once did she ever look back.

* * *

**END OF FLASHBACK**

* * *

Brittany, who was still lying on her bed, shivered thinking back to that moment. As she let a single tear escape her eye, she thought back to how scared she had been in that moment, and how scared she still was. Ever since that night, she hadn't let anyone but Quinn get anywhere near her, let alone touch her, that's why it had surprised her when lying with the Latina earlier in the day hadn't made her uncomfortable. Her body would normally flinch out of nervousness at a simple touch, yet it had done the contrary with Santana, it had relaxed. The blonde shook her head as she remembered the bet. Santana just wanted her in her bed, and this was something Brittany didn't want to ever go through again. She was taken away from her thoughts when she heard a light knock on the door.

"Come in," the blonde said sitting up and whipping her eyes.

"Hey beautiful," Quinn said, smiling softly before frowning as she noticed the blonde's tearful face. She decided not to ask questions, knowing Brittany would open up to her when the time was right. "Dinner's ready, are you coming, or do you want me to bring you dinner in bed? I bought take outs on my way home."

"No, no don't worry," her friend replied. "I'll be there in a minute." Her voice was low and raspy, just above a whisper as she whipped a couple more tears away. She wasn't scared of letting go, not in front of Quinn. She shuffled on the bed, knowing it was enough for Quinn to know she wanted her to lay down next to her.

Quinn nudged her shoulder a little bit before maneuvering Brittany so the blonde's back were facing her front. She pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair as she cried some more. "What were you thinking about?" she finally asked after her friend's sobbing had stopped.

"Arthur." Brittany didn't need to say more. Quinn knew.

"He's not worth your time nor attention love," Quinn finally spoke. "Besides," she continued playfully, "you have Santana now." Softly nudging Brittany's shoulder again as this latter let out a chuckle, she made the now smiling blonde look up. "Come on, dinner's calling and Rachel's waiting for us."

Brittany's eyes went big as she stood up fast, making Quinn fall off the bed. "Rach is here?"

"One: OUCH!," Quinn replied, faking being hurt. "And two: yes she is, now come on!"

The moment Brittany saw Rachel, she literally jumped in her arms to hug her, causing the small brunette to stumble. Rachel was Brittany's second best friend, after Quinn of course. Rachel knew Brittany more than the blonde knew herself, but then again reading people was just something Rachel was good at. Brittany's mood definitively lifted, the three best friends cuddled on the couch to catch up on everything they had missed in each other's live.

* * *

"You wanna get outta here?" Santana's head turned towards her friend, whose eyes were still fixed on the flat screen, playing whatever game he had picked up on his way to her house earlier in the day. He had arrived unannounced an hour after the brunette had come home, saving Santana from overthinking the whole Brittany thing. Far from being interested in the game her friend was playing, the Latina had spent the past hour on her phone, interacting with her fans on Twitter.

"Sure, why not, I need to get out of this place anyway. What do you wanna do?"

Her friend sent her a look, as if it was obvious. And really, it was. Santana fully knew that what he wanted was to go get his mack on, and more, with some random girl at a club. But Santana really didn't feel like getting drunk tonight.

"Actually," she said deep in thought. "I know exactly where we could go."

When they got out of the house, Santana was glad to see there were no paparazzi around. After all, it was Friday night; she should have known they would be near nightclubs waiting to snap some good pictures that would make headlines the next day. Santana knew her friend would be disappointed because it wasn't a nightclub they were going to but there was somewhere she wanted to go to, so he had no choice than to follow anyway. When she got there, Santana could hear the giggles coming from inside. From what she could hear, someone else was with Brittany and Quinn. Sure enough, it wasn't two, but three young women who opened the door. Their giggles seem to be cut short as their mouths closed tight and a look of anger flashed in their eyes. Santana couldn't help but notice how Quinn and the mystery women took a step forward, as if to shield Brittany.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Quinn gritted through her teeth. Santana was surprised by Quinn's aggressiveness, but she was even more surprise that said aggressiveness was not directed towards her, but towards her friend.

When no response was given except for a smirk, Quinn repeated herself. "I said, what the fuck are you doing here, Arthur?"

Santana was starting to put the pieces together. Artie had told her that only his high school classmates had ever called him Arthur. The girls and he must have met in high school. But that didn't explain the look of fear on Brittany's face, or the fact that the two other girls looked like they were about to attack him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss Virgin and her two little dogs Miss Skank and Miss Loser," Artie laughed. Santana frowned, for she had never heard that much venom in her friend's voice. "See ladies, I came with my friend over here, Santana," he continued with a smirk. The place the Latina took him to was better than any nightclub they could have found.

"Santana, is that true? Arthur is your friend?" Quinn turned to the brunette while asking the question. She found the Latina looking down. She hadn't said a word since the door opened. She was confused and still had no idea of what was going on.

"Ummm yeah?" she said with a frown. That came out more like a question than a statement. She had come here to see Brittany and she didn't want to mess things up. "I take it you guys know him already?"

Brittany looked up and spoke for the first time since Santana and Artie had arrived. "Yes. We know him. And he's a fucking ass," she said before storming out of the room. How could he be there? It had taken her ages to get over all of this and here he was, showing up like nothing happened, just a few hours after the blonde had mentioned her ex-boyfriend to the Latina. In her rush, she hadn't heard Santana excuse herself before following her inside, which made her jump slightly when she heard a knock on her door, followed by a head of black hair popping up at the door.

"Hey, can I come in?" Brittany wanted to tell the Latina to leave her alone but she didn't find the strength to do it, so she just nodded.

She was supposed to hate Santana, but she didn't seem to succeed at doing so anymore. It had been a couple of days since they met and Brittany had grown to know the singer better and found out she was not the woman she once thought she was. Having Santana around created feelings inside of her, feelings that Brittany was scared to admit to herself.

Santana got in, carefully closing the door behind her so their conversations couldn't be heard. She sat near Brittany, who had shuffled on the bed so she had somewhere to sit. "What's going on?"

Brittany straightened up a little and shrugged her sniffing betraying her previous crying. "Nothing. Nothing special, really. Where is everyone?"

"Quinn and your friend are talking to Artie outside," Santana replied. "And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be crying if 'nothing special' was up," she continued, air quoting her last words to make the blonde smile, which worked a little.

"Don't worry, nothing's up. I'm just really tired." Brittany faked another smile which didn't go unnoticed by Santana, who lied down next to her, in a position similar to the one they had used earlier.

"You're a terrible liar Miss Pierce. But I'm going to let this one slide." Brittany's smile grew, and thus so did Santana's. "What's the midget's name anyway?"

"Santana, don't be rude," Brittany tried to scold the Latina but couldn't help but chuckle at her nickname for Rachel. "Her name is Rachel."

"Hey now, I'm not being rude," Santana laughed. "I'm being realistic. She's so small that she trying to stand her ground against Artie looked ridiculous." Santana cursed herself when she saw the blonde's smile fall again at the mention of the boy. She nudged the blonde's shoulder softly. "Will you tell me what this was all about?"

At first, Brittany shook her head. That had been enough thinking about that night for the day. But as Santana turned to face her and began to stroke her arm, Brittany couldn't help the words that stumbled out of her mouth. "Artie is Arthur. I mean like… Arthur, the ex-boyfriend I told you about."

Suddenly, all clicked into place in the Latina's mind. "The one who screwed you over?"

"Yeah." Santana couldn't believe she hadn't made the connection earlier when she saw that look of fear in the blonde's eyes. But then again, Artie had never mentioned Brittany to his friend in the past, and Santana had never mentioned Brittany to Artie either, by fear that her growing affection for the blonde would give a reason for Artie to tease her.

"Oh," was the single word who escaped the brunette's mouth at first. "I'm sorry I brought him here."

"It's okay," Brittany replied. "You didn't know." The look of confusion on the Latina's eyes was enough for Brittany to confide to her.

Santana's face turned pale and she found it hard to swallow as Brittany went on to tell her what Artie had gotten her through. This was it. The reason why the girls knew Artie, the reason why Brittany had cried, it was all because Artie had tried to force himself on Brittany. Santana felt nothing but hatred towards Artie now, but she also knew that she needed to talk to Artie to get both sides of the story. It wasn't that she didn't trust Brittany; she just wanted to see whether or not her friend would lie straight to her face.

But as Brittany started crying again, Santana decided that this talk could wait a bit longer. She didn't know what the boundaries were between them, but she knew she couldn't leave the blonde like this. Softly, she turned Brittany so they were face to face and pulled her into a hug. Brittany was quick to hug back and buried her face in the crook of Santana's neck, holding on to her for dear life. "I won't tell anyone," Santana said, as if knowing that this was exactly what the blonde needed to hear. "I won't tell anyone about this, I promise you."

Their hug was broken when they heard Artie throwing a fit down the hall, followed by heavy footsteps coming towards them. Santana was on her feet and out the door before Artie could even reach it. Closing the door behind her, she made sure to send another apologetic look towards the blonde.

"Come on Artie, we're leaving," Brittany heard Santana say behind her now closed door.

"See you soon, darlings," Artie told Quinn and Rachel before being forced out of the house by a very irritated Latina.

Brittany heard the door shutting and soon after, Rachel and Quinn were by her side, hugging her as she cried. The three best friends soon fell asleep out of exhaustion.

* * *

Santana decided to drive Artie home instead of letting him crash on her couch like she had originally planned. The ride had been quiet but Santana knew she needed to talk to Artie at some point. She knew Brittany wasn't lying about this, for her eyes held so much hurt and pain. Yet, she needed to hear it from Artie.

"So how come you know Brittany?" Santana asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"We dated for a while," the man simply replied. Santana looked at him briefly. He was turned to the window with a smile on his face. That smile made the Latina even angrier at him.

"You never told me about her," Santana replied, keeping her calm while focusing on the road.

"I don't know. It didn't seem important." Santana noticed how Artie grew agitated and how he kept his answers short. His nervousness was to Santana the first sign that confirmed the whole story. The singer decided to push him a little more, just to see if he would actually admit it.

"She hates you, apparently." Santana saw Artie shifting in his seat again from the corner of her eye. "What happened?"

"I've never really known," he simply shrugged. His voice betrayed him. He was annoyed. "Can we just stop talking about her?"

Santana was now really pissed. She pulled over and stopped her car. "Maybe it has to do with the fact you tried to fucking force yourself on her!"

Artie finally turned to his friend. His eyes were full of surprise, anger and... fear? "Force myself on her? That's what she told you?" He let a nervous laugh. "She hasn't changed. Always making stuff up."

"What do you mean?" Santana asked. She obviously didn't believe a word her so called friend was saying.

"At the time, that's what she was saying too. But I never made a move on her."

"What happened then?"

Artie broke and started yelling. "Fuck this, Santana. I'm your friend, believe me for once!"

This was it for the feisty Latina. She couldn't believe Artie would lie to her face. "Well see, I'm not 'friends' with assholes like you," she said using air quote just like earlier with Brittany. "What you did to Brittany was disgusting. Worst is that you don't even fucking care! Now get the fuck out of my car and I don't ever want to see you again."

Santana drove away as soon as he was out. She was furious. She had known Artie for years, and never had she ever imagined he could be that kind of person. But as she headed home, his last words to her echoed in her head.

"Better be careful, Santana. You're falling for her."


	5. Chapter 5: A scoop?

It was 9 in the morning and Brittany was sitting on her couch, a cup of coffee in her hands. She was trying to motivate herself into going to work but she was failing. She didn't want to see Santana. The reason why? She couldn't really tell. Maybe was it because she was getting attached to her and because she knew that never, ever would the famous Santana Lopez fall in love with a stupid paparazzi. She snorted when she noticed her own choice of words. Love… Why was she already thinking about love when she's only known the Latina for a couple of weeks? Or maybe she didn't want to see her because she had made that bet with Santana and that now it wouldn't really bother her to lose to Latina. Too many questions and yet no answer. She hadn't been afraid of these new growing feelings towards the brunette. Her parents had always told her that you couldn't choose who you were falling in love with. Brittany knew that no matter who she chose to spend her life with, boy or girl, her parents would support her. But for now, she had no choice; she had to go to work. She got up from the couch and started gathering her things quietly enough not to wake her two best friends up. Rachel had extended her stay with them, having nothing holding her back home. Brittany hesitated before getting out of her car once she got to the singer's house. She didn't know how to act in front of the Latina. Should she wave at her or just do her job, take pictures and get out of here, all the while pretending she didn't know her? She pulled herself together knowing she didn't have time to loose asking herself these kinds of things. After a good 15 minutes, Santana got out and quickly went through the crowd. Brittany couldn't help but feel a pain in her chest as the brunette got into her car and drove away, totally ignored her.

To take the pain away, Brittany decided to go for a walk. Her boss could wait, especially since these pictures looked exactly like the ones she brought to him every day. She started walking towards the nearest beach, which was located a few blocks away from Santana's place. It took her about half an hour to get there, but she didn't mind. The light wind was relaxing her, lifting her pain, stress and anger off of shoulders. As she reached the bay, she spotted Santana, walking along the beach hand in hand with whom Brittany recognized from the picture at the Latina's place as her little brother's hand. Out of instinct, she snapped a couple of pictures. It wasn't like she was going to sell them. They just looked adorable. As they got close enough to her, Brittany could hear the soft tone in Santana's voice as she talked to the little boy.

"Come on Matt, let's get you an ice cream," Santana said squeezing the little boy's hand.

Brittany decided to make her presence known, so taking a step towards them, she called them. "Hey guys."

The look on Santana's face wasn't the one Brittany had expected. The raven-haired woman's eyes went wide as she looked back and forth between the photographer and the little boy. "Brit… Brittany… Hi… Umm… What are you doing here?"

"It's nice to see you too, Santana," Brittany chuckled at Santana's sudden uneasiness. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your cute little brother?" she continued as she looked down to look at the little boy.

Said boy giggled. "She's not my sister, she's my mami."

Brittany almost chocked at the boy's words. She wasn't fluent in Spanish, but she had taken a Spanish class long enough back in high school to know what the word meant. "Mami?" she repeated looking at Santana, as if waiting for an explanation.

Santana's cheeks were redder than ever. "That's Spanish... For mother." Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she continued. "Brittany, meet Mateo, my son. Matt sweetie, this is my… uh… my friend Brittany." She had hesitated calling Brittany her friend but she had trained her son not to trust paparazzi, and she didn't want him to fear Brittany the way he feared her co-workers.

"Wow," was all the blonde could say after this new discovery. She couldn't believe Santana had a son.

"Mami," the tiny boy squeezed his mother's hand to get her attention. "Is this the girl you've talk to Uncle Jake about?"

"You've talked to Matt," Santana corrected by habit. "It is you've talked to," she continue, putting the emphasis on the –ed so her son would get it.

"Whatever mami," Mateo replied. "Don't try to change the subject." Brittany smiled at the boy's attitude. Mateo seemed as stubborn as his mother. She looked for Santana's eyes but the brunette was avoiding her gaze and looking at the ground.

"Yeah. Yes, it is she. And her name is Brittany, young man," the brunette said as she looked up again.

Mateo let go of his mother's hand and took a couple of steps towards Brittany. Looking up she said, "Mami was right. You're very pretty."

"Why thank you," the blonde replied kneeling down to give the little boy a gentle hug. "You look very handsome yourself." As the boy blushed and ducked his head, Brittany stood back up to face Santana. "So, talking about me?"

Once again, Santana looked down, embarrassed. "No.. I mean. Yeah.. but it was just… I just told my best friend about you."

"You said she was beautiful and funny," Mateo pointed out.

"Thanks for that Matt," she said as her cheeks turned red again. "Anyway…"

Brittany decided to save Santana from the embarrassment and dropped the subject. "So, who's Jake?"

"He's my best friend," Santana simply replied.

"Is he cute?" Brittany asked.

The blonde had really tried to hold it back and stop teasing the pop star but it was too much fun to watch the Latina blush. However, the look of the other girl's face surprised her. She frowned. Santana looked... hurt?

"Umm…" Santana, for whatever reason, didn't want Brittany to be interested in Jake. And it wasn't because she had it bad for Jake. But of course, she couldn't say that to Brittany, nor show her. "I'll introduce you to him if you want."

"Cool." Brittany smiled. "I'm going to go now. I have to give the photos to my boss."

"Noooooo," Mateo whined, letting go of his mother's hand to grab Brittany's. "Come and get an ice cream with us. That'll make my mami happy. And me too."

Santana shook her head, defeated. Her son was definitively not ready to let that one go. She looked into the photographer's piercing blue eyes. "You want to join? My treat. I need to talk to you, anyway."

Brittany laughed. "Alright, alright. I couldn't resist to the Lopez charm even if I tried. anyway"

"I know, I know." Santana laughed modestly, pushing her hair back and brushing her shoulders.

"I was talking about Mateo," the blonde added, looking dead serious. But her smile betrayed her. She suddenly burst out laughing, soon followed by the little boy.

"She got you mami!" Mateo said between two giggles.

Santana faked being offended. "Fine then," she said turning her back to the two new buddies. "I'll leave you two be since you guys seem to be just fine on your own!"

"Come on San', stay with us."

Santana stopped dead in track as she heard Brittany's words. Especially the nickname she had used for her. Santana was sure that this nickname rolling out of the blonde's mouth was now her favorite sound in the world. She looked up at the blonde, who seemed to have noticed her slip-up as her cheeks started turning pink. But what Santana noticed the most was the smile on her face and her sparkling blue eyes.

"Alright," the Latina finally said, breaking the playful staring contest that she and Brittany had been in seconds before. "But I do need to talk to Brittany for a minute though," she continued as she knelt in front of her son. "Go play on the swings, sweetie, Brittany and I will be with you in a minute, okay?"

"Okay," the little boy nodded before running towards a couple of other kids playing not too far away.

Brittany and Santana took a few steps back, wanting privacy without having to go too far away from Mateo.

"I won the bet," Brittany stated, as to start the conversation knowing exactly where Naya wanted to take it. "And I even have pictures to prove my facts."

"I know," Santana simply sighs. She stopped walking and turned to face the blonde. "But I need you not to release these pictures nor share Matt's true identity."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because these past few years, I've done all I could to protect Matt from it all. The fame, the press, the paparazzi," Brittany could hear and read the sincerity in the brunette's eyes. She would do anything to protect her son. "No one, except my family, and now you, knows the truth about Mateo. When asked, we just say he's my cousin. So please," Santana's eyes were now teary. "Please don't give those pictures away."

The blonde excused herself, telling Santana she had to go give her boss some pictures before he went on his lunch break. Santana made sure of two things before the blonde left: 1) Brittany had to promise to at least consider her request on her way to the office and 2) she had to come back to the beach right after she was done at the office so they could get ice creams. When the blonde agreed to both, the Latina softly kissed her cheek.

"You're cute when you're smiling, now go," was the last thing Brittany heard before Santana left her to go back to Mateo.

* * *

After these few words that had made Brittany's heart race way faster than she'd ever admit it, she went off to her agency to give her photos. She was torn apart between her job and the Latina. Of course, giving these pictures of Santana with her son would with no doubt get her lots of money, but it would also destroy the little boy's life. What 3-year-old would enjoy having their childhood ruined by these media monsters? None. And as much as she wanted to deny it, she cared for Santana and Mateo was just so cute and innocent. By the time she arrived at the office, the tall blonde had made up her mind. As she waved at the people she passed by, her brain was going a thousand miles an hour. She suddenly stopped and took a deep breath. She knew. Yes, she knew what to do. After knocking lightly at her boss' office door, someone let her in.

"Hello Karl," Brittany walked in and sat down. From day 1, her boss had been really cool and down-to-earth. He called his employees by their first names and expected them to do the same with him.

"Hi Brittany. So, I suppose you have new pictures for me?" Karl pointed to Brittany's hand that was holding a memory card.

"Sure do," Brittany nodded. She held out the memory card to him. "There you go."

"Thanks a lot," Karl replied while quickly transferring the photos into his computer. "You're the best. I don't know what I'd do without you," he added while handing Brittany her memory card back. Karl was indeed really thankful. Santana Lopez was really the main focus of every teenager lately and Brittany had gotten really good at following her around. "Here's your check!" Brittany grabbed her money before waving him goodbye and exciting the building.

* * *

As planned, Brittany returned to the beach where the two impatient mother and son were waiting for her by the ice cream stand. As soon as she arrived, the smaller Lopez jumped in her arms.

"I've missed you Britty!"

"Matt, sweetie, I was only gone for 20 minutes," Brittany laughed, hugging the little boy.

"Yes," Mateo replied, "but Mami told me you said 10 minutes!"

Brittany smiled at the child's cuteness. Putting him back on the floor, she stepped towards Santana.

"Missed me, Miss Lopez?" Brittany asked in a flirty way. If Santana wanted to play, she would play too.

"Maybe," the brunette playfully replied while stepping closer to Brittany.

They broke their gaze as they heard Mateo start to sing a few feet ahead of them. "Mami and Britty sitting on a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."

Santana simply sighed and shook her head; knowing arguing with her stubborn son would lead nowhere. She turned to a flushed Brittany. "I'm sorry, he can be a handful at times."

"Don't worry about it, he's cute," the blonde simply replied, looking at Mateo fondly.

Still watching the young boy, Brittany merely acknowledge whatever the other girl had just asked her with a nod. Which pictures had she given to her boss? Instead of a worded reply, the blonde just kissed the Latina's cheek, the same way she had done with her earlier about an hour ago. Seeing as she had rendered Santana speechless, Brittany skipped ahead before grabbing Mateo and putting him onto her shoulders.

"Look mami, I'm huge!" Mateo's joyful yelling was what brought Santana back to earth after her 5 minutes long OMG-Brittany-just-kissed-my-cheek high. She looked around for Brittany and Mateo, only to find them at the ice cream stand once more.

"Way to wait for me, so nice of you two" Santana said, with a false hint of offense.

"But mami, my tummy was too hungry," Mateo replied, giving his mother puppy eyes and petting his belly.

"And so was mine," Brittany added, mimicking the little boy's actions. Santana couldn't help but laugh at the pair, before being handed an ice cream. "But we can share if you want."

"I don't share with strangers," Santana replied, sticking her tongue out to Brittany which made her laugh.

"Your loss mami, that's more for Britty."

"Exactly, more for me," Brittany nodded before high-fiving the 3 year old. Santana narrowed her eyes at them, but ended up smiling at the pair's complicity. She could get used to this. Wait... What? Get a grip Lopez!

Seeking revenge, Santana bought her own ice cream from the stand behind them. The pair had their back facing her, so it wasn't hard for her to sneak right behind them.

"Britt..." It was just a whisper, so low that no one else around, not even Mateo could have heard it.

Santana barely had the time to witness the shiver running across the blonde's body before said blonde turned around, her blue eyes darker than ever. Without waiting another second, Santana threw the cream in her face. "Here's some more for you," she yelled before running away.

As soon as Brittany had recovered from the shock with the help of Mateo whipping her face with the table napkins the stand owner had given him, the blonde chased the Latina down the beach, Mateo in toe. "SANTANA ALMA LOPEZ, GET BACK HERE!"

Mateo was full on laughing by now. Seeing that the two women were running in circles, never getting too far away from him, he decided to just sit there and cheer them on. "RUN, MAMI, RUN! COME ON BRITTY!"

"Yes, you better run Santana, because you are in SO much trouble," Brittany added, as she saw the brunette stop to catch her breath. She gently tackled her to the ground before straddling her.

Santana couldn't help but send a smirk Brittany's way as she saw the position they were in. "I've always known you were a top, Pierce."

"Ew, gross," Brittany replied, ignoring the warm feeling in the bottom of her stomach.

She pined the brunette's hands over her head before tickling her into apologies. When Santana gave a full, real apology, Brittany released her grip, but didn't stand up.

By habit, the blonde checked the time on her phone. "I'm sure you know that by now," she started while looking down at the Santana, "but you've been hiding at the beach for over two hours already, they're going to find you soon."

Santana groaned as she was reminded of why she had come here with Mateo in the first place. It turns out that the beach wasn't the first place paparazzi checked when looking for somebody, especially this early in the morning. "You're right." Looking up from her spot on the ground, she told her son to gather his things to head home. As Brittany shifted slightly on top of her, she was also reminded of just how close their bodies were, and where they connected. Clearing her throat, she tugged on the blonde's wrist. "Umm.. Britt? Could you let me go now?"

Brittany flushed as she realized she was still on top of Santana. "Umm... Yeah... I... Yeah... Sorry," she mumbled while standing up, making sure not to hurt the other girl.

Once they were both up, with Mateo holding his mother's hand, Santana broke the silence, and the awkwardness that had come along. "Well, we're going to go now. I'll see you soon... or like, tomorrow i guess," she said looking at Brittany. It was more of a question than a statement.

"Of course you will," the Latina smiled in relief as she found out she wouldn't have to wait long to see the blonde again. "After all, that's my job to follow you every day, but to be honest, I'm getting pretty bored. You should try to change your ways, try to walk on one foot or something." The three friends laughed.

"I promise I'll try," Santana replied as her son was letting go of her hands.

The small dark-haired boy jumped into Brittany's arms and gave her a big hug. "Will I see you soon too?"

Brittany looked up at the child's mother, and as the Latina slightly nodded, she answered him. "I promise. Bye sweetie," she finished as she put the little girl boy on the ground and waved him goodbye.

* * *

As Brittany got back home, she was met with two pairs of eyes looking at her curiously.

"Where have you been?"

"You usually come home earlier than that," her two best friends said at the same time.

Brittany just shook her head and shrugged, dismissing the questions as she headed to the kitchen to fix her and the girls a late breakfast. Three young women spent most of their afternoon catching up. It was now 7:00pm and the smile plastered on Brittany's face was still there since her morning with Santana and Mateo. Rachel and Quinn had been quiet about it so far, but were determined to know the reason why their friend was smiling so big.

"Come on," Quinn started, nudging Brittany's shoulder. "Tell us why got you smiling so big like that?"

"You're in love?"

"You met someone?"

"When are we going to meet them?"

Quinn and Rachel kept going on and on with questions. Brittany laughed at their best friends' randomness and curiosity.

"Slow down girls," she said loud enough to make her friends stop. "You're asking me too many questions."

"Come on, just tell us why you're so happy and smiley since you got back! There must be a reason!" Quinn said.

Brittany smiled, a certain someone showing up in her mind once again. "Maybe. Maybe there is. Maybe there isn't."

"BRITTANY!," Quinn slapped her friend's shoulder again.

"Okay, okay fine," the blonde sighed. "I saw Santana today."

Once again, a smile appeared on her face. She loved that feeling, that feeling she got in her stomach anytime she thought of the Latina. That feeling that also made her so confused. She was torn, torn between her heart wanting to get to know Santana better and her head telling her to stay professional. Either way, she didn't want to lie to her friends, at least not entirely.

Quinn raised her eyebrows. "And that's why you're so happy?"

"Yup." The blonde shrugged her shoulders as it was the most obvious thing on the planet.

"Wait wait wait," Rachel interrupted, holding a hand up. She turned to Quinn. "Aren't we supposed to not like her?"

"I thought we were." Quinn nodded with a frown on her face.

"Only idiots don't change their minds" The photographer replied, shrugging her shoulders once more.

Suddenly, Quinn bounced of joy. She stood up from her seat and hugged her best friend. "Awww Rach, do you hear that? Our Britt's fallen in love."

"Oh you two shut up already!" Brittany said, laughing as she tried to get away from the impromptu group hug.

"Then, if you're not even remotely interested," Quinn said in a serious tone, "how come you're so happy to have seen her?"

"Because she's nice!"

Quinn scoffed. "That's it?"

"YES!" Brittany let out. She knew her friend wanted her to open up but she was getting frustrated.

"I don't believe you," Quinn eventually stated before being quickly followed by Rachel saying "Me neither."

Knowing they wouldn't let it go until she gave them something, Brittany decided to sum up her morning with Santana for them, all the while making sure not to mention Mateo.

The two other women gasped and squealed at some parts of the story, before deciding that such a rebound in the blonde's love life was calling for celebration. After a few debates. the three young women had chosen to go get some sushi. It was 8:00pm and the restaurant was crowded but they somehow managed to score a table in the far back of the restaurant, in a rather quiet zone. Brittany had thought seeing someone while coming in but had just shrugged it off, thinking her imagination was just playing tricks on her. But once she sat down, her eyes went looking for that face again. She couldn't help it, she wanted to know if it was really her. When her eyes found her, her heart skipped a beat. It was her. It was Santana and she was looking gorgeous. Her raven hair had been let down and curled by the end. She was wearing this tight black dress which was embracing all of her beautiful curves and stopping just above her knees.

The blonde hadn't noticed that her two best friends had stopped talking. At some point during the conversation they had just had, the lack of Britrany-ism had stroke them. Following the blonde's line of sight, the pair spotted the Latina, a couple of tables away.

"Oh hey Britt, look at that", Quinn said pointing to the brunette's table. "There's Santana over there!"

"Huh?" Brittany asked, taking her eyes off of the Latina. "Sorry, i zoned out. What did you say?"

Her two friends giggled. "There's Santana over there, just where you were looking not even 5 seconds ago."

Busted.

Brittany started blushing, embarrassed to have been caught staring at Santana. "I.. I don't know what you're talking about. Where is she?"

Once again, Rachel pointed towards the Latina's table. "Right there."

"So what are you waiting for, huh?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow, as to encourage Rachel to explain herself. She didn't need to explain though, as Quinn nudged Britanny's shoulder.

"Come on! Go get your girl!" Quinn said.

Brittany knew she had lost that fight. She stood up and started walking toward the brunette, who hadn't seen her yet. She was now inches away from her table. All of a sudden, she felt out of breath. How could she have been so stupid? She stared at the scene in front of her before turning around and running towards the exit. She needed air. She needed to get away from them. Once out the door, she sat on the front stairs and buried her head in her hands before letting her tears flow. Why was it that she was the one hurting once again? Of course, she wasn't in love with Santana. But she did like her.


	6. Chapter 6: A Boyfriend?

_**Sorry for the delay you guys, writing with half of your laptop screen broken isn't as easy as you'd think! You're introduced to some new characters in this chapter, but remember that contrary to the first edition of this story, the focus will remain on Brittany and Santana and ONLY Britt and San.**_

* * *

Brittany sat right there, on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant, for what felt like ages. Her head was buried in her hands as sobs forcefully escaped her body. It had started raining about 5 minutes ago. The blonde's clothes were drenched, her makeup was ruined, her hair was a soaking mess and she was freezing, but yet she couldn't get herself to go back inside. She finally looked up to check her phone. She had barely been out for ten minutes. Her two best friends probably thought she was still talking to Santana at this point. Santana… The blonde cursed herself for the nth time that night for being such an idiot, and thinking that she had even the slightest chance with the Latina. Speaking of… As the dark-haired woman's laugh reached Brittany's ears, the blonde had to repress a smile. She really did have an amazing voice. Realizing the state she was in, and very aware of the footsteps getting closer to her, Brittany buried her face in her hands once again, trying her best to hide behind the scarf she had chosen to wear. She was happy to be hiding behind the scarf when a more masculine voice, probably belonging to the man Brittany had seen having dinner with Santana, made itself heard. However, said voice was cut short for some reasons. Not even seconds later, a hand on her shoulder made Brittany jump.

"Brittany?" The blonde did the best she could to remove any trace of her tears before looking up at the Latina who was now crouched in front of her. "Britt, what are you doing out there? Are you insane? You're going to catch a cold." Santana didn't wait for an answer before removing her own jacket and sliding it over the shoulders of the blonde who was now standing up.

Brittany didn't know what to do or what to say. Seeing Santana with that guy hurt her, more than she would ever admit. She suddenly hated herself for appreciating Santana, for enjoying the Latina's company so much these past few days. She had to forget her and these precious moments spent with her. An idea crossed her mind just as she spotted a young dark-haired man coming her way. Revenge. She ignored the Latina who was looking at her curiously and ran to the guy. Brittany wanted to thank the sky when his first reflex was to catch her. Brittany asked for the stranger's help in a quick whisper to his ear. The young man didn't seem surprised and even seemed to understand that Brittany just wanted to make Santana jealous. He gently kissed her cheek and slid his arms around the photographer's waist.

"She was just waiting for me," he said. Then, kissing her cheek once again, he added "I'm sorry I'm late, babe."

Brittany blushed at the use of the pet name. She was not used to it coming out so sweetly and gently. Looking up, she scanned Santana's face, waiting for her reaction. Saying the girl looked surprised would be an understatement.

"Oh... Hello," was all Santana could mumble, losing her confidence all of a sudden. The brunette seemed to pull herself together though as she took a few step back to her friend and introduced him. "Brittany, this is Noah Puckerman. Noah, this is Brittany."

Brittany faked a smile as she shook Noah's hand and even complimented the couple on how cute they looked together. The tall guy thanked her as he pecked Santana on the lips. Of course, Santana noticed the way Brittany looked away, but she decided not to say anything about it for now. Brittany knew now would be a good time to introduce her own 'boyfriend' to Santana but panic settled in her as she realized she still had no idea what the name of the man holding her –and saving her at the same time– was. Said man seemed one step ahead of her though, as he held his hand out to Noah, and then to Santana.

"Hi, I'm Rory. Rory Flanagan." Brittany let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and sent a thankful smile towards the guy. Rory only sent her a warm smile in return.

"Come on, babe. We should get inside," Rory said loud enough. Brittany couldn't help but notice his Irish accent at that point. How had she not noticed it before? In the corner of her eye, she saw Santana narrowing her eyes at him. She must have heard it, too. Rory removed his arm from Brittany's waist to grab her hand. Intertwining their fingers, he turned to Santana and Noah. "It was nice meeting you guys."

It was Noah who replied, Santana being too busy searching Brittany's gaze. "It was nice meeting you too. We'll see you around hopefully."

"Sure. Goodbye," was all Brittany said before walking back into the restaurant, pulling Rory along with her.

Outside, Santana felt like kicking herself. Or better yet, kicking that Irish guy in the butt and shipping him back to his country. She hated to admit it but she knew it was jealousy speaking. Who was that Rory person anyway? And how come Brittany had never mentioned him before? Okay, maybe they hadn't known each other for that long but still, she wished the girl would have said something! Of course, she too had company tonight but this was different. Catching up with her companion, she hit him in the back of the head, reminding him to keep it low on the public display of attention.

Brittany and Rory were still standing inside the restaurant. They had let go of each other's hands as soon as Santana and Noah had been out of sight.

"Thank you so much for what you just did," Brittany said, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm sure anyone else would have thought I was crazy and let me make a fool out of myself."

Rory let out a small laugh. The girl was gorgeous but seemed so panicked when she ran to him in the street; he couldn't do anything but help her. "It's okay."

"Do you want to come and sit with us? Let me offer you a drink, at least." Brittany thought that after all the guy had done for her in the past 10 minutes, the least she could do was offering him dinner.

"Us as in?" Rory asked, frowning.

"Me and my friends. We're sitting right there," she replied pointing at the table she had been sitting at earlier on.

"I would have loved to but I was supposed to meet up with a mate at the pub around the corner like," he stopped for a second as he checked his watch, "five minutes ago."

"Then call him and tell him to come and join us too," Brittany smiled. "After all, the more the merrier," she soon added, giving Rory a big smile as they stepped outside again to look for his friend.

A few minutes after Rory had given the call to his friend, whose name was apparently Finn, Brittany spotted a tall man coming towards them. He had his hands in his pockets and this big goofy smile on his face.

"Rory, where were you at, dude? I've been waiting for you for ages!" He didn't seem mad though, just curious. Brittany concluded that her first impression of the guy had probably been right. He was like that huge teddy bear who was everyone's best friend and probably gave the best hugs, too.

"Sorry bro," Rory said, massaging the back of his neck and looking down. He suddenly felt bad for leaving his friend alone at the pub. "Let me introduce you to Brittany, the reason why I couldn't make it in time. Brittany, this is my good friend Finn Hudson."

As expected, Finn looked down at Brittany's small hand that she had automatically held out to him with a smile before pushing it aside to pull the girl into a small hug. Brittany welcomed the hug with arms open; especially since her clothes were still drenched and the only warmth she was receiving was from... _Fuck_. Santana's jacket. The girl cursed herself as she realized she would need to face Santana again soon to give it back to her. Pushing the Latina in the back in her mind, she finally addressed Finn. "It's nice to meet you, Finn. My friends and I were about to order some sushi. Want to join us?"

"Sure." Finn replied before bending a bit to enter the restaurant. Yup, he was THAT tall. Brittany and Rory were still laughing about it as they reached Quinn and Rachel. As introductions were being made, Brittany couldn't help but notice how Rachel and Finn locked eyes.

After an awkward silence as they all waited for their two last friends to introduce themselves, Rory waved a hand in front of Finn's eyes, "Earth to Finn." Finn seemed to snap back to reality as he tore his gaze away from the seemingly tiny brunette. "Let us know if we're bothering you," Rory then added playfully, his gaze shifting between his friend and Rachel. The petite brunette looked down and red crept onto her cheeks as she mumbled what sounded like an apology.

When Brittany and her two new friends sat down, Quinn made sure to shift close enough to the blonde to be able to talk to her without the others hearing what she had to say. "I saw Santana go out soon after you left us. What happened?"

Brittany turned to her friend before checking if anyone was listening to them. Luckily, Rachel, Finn and Rory seemed engaged in a passionate conversation about Ireland. Brittany kept her voice low not to attract attention to her as she replied to Ashley. "She was with someone."

It took barely 2 seconds for Quinn to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Don't use Rory as a way to get back to Santana, Brittany. That's not fair to him."

"I'm not using him," Brittany hit back. "Don't you think he's cute?"

Quinn sent her a pointed look, as to confirm she was seeing straight through her lie. "Maybe, but still," she said firmly. "Taking your revenge on Santana won't get you anywhere. Plus, who knows who that guy is? For all we know, he could be her brother."

Brittany let out a small laugh that still went unnoticed by their friends. "No trust me, I saw them and they were definitively together. They even kissed in front of Rory and me." Her smile fell as she recalled the kiss that she had witnessed earlier. As if sensing the change of her best friend's mood, Quinn pulled her into a hug as best as she could from where she stood.

"Thank you," Brittany replied before letting go of her friend. Whipping a lone tear, Brittany straightened up on her seat and smiled to her friend. "But hey! Let's forget about relationships and just have fun tonight!"

"AMEN!" Quinn half-shouted, thus finally bringing their friends' attention to them.

After too many sushis were eaten and too many laughs were shared, the five friends parted ways, Rory, Finn, and non-so surprisingly Rachel heading to a nightclub to continue their night, Quinn heading to Sam's house which was only a couple of blocks away, and Brittany heading home because she was exhausted. When she parked in front of her house 20 minutes later, something caught her attention. As she walked up to her door, her heart skipped a beat when a voice came out of the shadow.

"So, you had fun tonight?"

"What are you doing here?" Brittany spat, recognizing the voice. She was officially done with drama for the day.

"It looks like someone is not happy to see me." Through the darkness, Brittany could see the silhouette standing up. As they stepped closer to the blonde, her suspicions were confirmed.

"No Arthur, not really," Brittany replied, trying to remain calm as she stepped around the guy to unlock the door.

"Don't talk to me like that Pierce." She could hear the anger in his voice as they blocked her way to the door.

"Leave me alone, Arthur," Brittany threatened again as she tried to push him away.

"Don't you want to talk?" Artie's sudden change of tone took Brittany by surprise. What was up with him?

"We have absolutely nothing to talk about," she spat once again, not wanting him to get to her.

The blonde tried really hard to get around Artie to get into her house and lock herself in. Artie, however, didn't feel like letting her go quite yet. He caught her wrist gently. Once again, his voice was warm and calm.

"Brittany please, let me explain everything to you."

"There's nothing to explain. Why are you even all nice all of a sudden?" Brittany was confused. She had known Artie for a while and had suffered because of him. He knew she hated him so why was he suddenly being so nice to her?

"Because I'd like to apologize," Artie started, letting go of Brittany's wrist to take one of her hand in his own, "for everything."

"I want to believe you, truly I do. But I'm not ready to do that yet." Brittany slipped her hand out of Artie's and looked at him in the eye. "I'm not ready to forgive you nor am I ready to forget about what happened." Just then, the blonde had to shut her eyes to keep the tears for falling as flashbacks from that night came to her mind.

"Brittany, please," Artie begged, trying to catch her arm again.

Brittany shook her head and took another step back so he couldn't catch her. "I'm sorry." Tears were now falling freely on the blonde's cheeks. Artie caught her wrist again, with much more strength this time around. A smirk appeared on his face as his anger came back.

"I knew it, Brittany. I knew you were still that little daddy's girl I've met," Artie spat, knowing full well the mention of the blonde's late father would strike something in her. "You'll never change."

"Guess that makes two of us then, huh?" Brittany cursed herself for believing even a second that he could have been sincere. "I should have known you hadn't changed either."

"Oh cute, you're crying because of me again," Artie said, pulling Heather towards him forcibly. His face was so close that the blonde could smell the alcohol in his breath. She pushed back once again before he spoke again. "What about your little Santana? Did she get the chance to go further with you than I ever did?"

"She has nothing to do with this, why are you bringing her up?"

Artie smiled again. "So you did sleep with her, didn't you?"

Brittany wasn't quite sure of what happened next but all she knew was that five seconds later, Artie was on the floor, a hand covering his now-bleeding nose. Artie got off of the ground slowly, his head still spinning because of the shock. He knew better than to mess with the person standing in front of him though. His eyes still filled with anger, he told Brittany he wasn't done with her before walking away.

* * *

When Brittany finally turned to the person who had just punched Artie, her eyes widened. Forgetting all about her previous encounter with the girl, Brittany found herself rushing into Santana's arms. The Latina didn't flinch, nor did she push the blonde away. She just held Brittany as she finally let herself feel overwhelmed by the fear that Artie had brought upon her. Once she was calm again, Brittany seemed to remember she was supposed to be mad at the girl and went to step away. Santana held her tighter though, not quite yet ready to let her go. She cupped Brittany's cheek and made her look at her. They were close, too close according to Brittany, but she couldn't get herself to push Santana away.

"Are you okay?" Santana didn't why she was whispering, maybe was it because of Brittany's breath, that she could feel hitting her lips and making her shudder. The blonde casted a glance downwards and immediately regretted it. Santana's lips were close, so, so close. "Oh my God, Britt, you're freezing." Brittany had been so mesmerized by the Latina's lips that she hadn't even noticed her grabbing her right hand. "Britt," Santana urged her. "You need to get inside."

"Ye…yeah right," the blonde finally snapped back to reality. She turned around to unlock the door, and got in, absentmindedly dragging Santana inside since she was still holding her hand.

For a minute, as Brittany let go of her hand and rushed to another room to busy herself, Santana thought she had forgotten she was even there. It wasn't until Brittany called her out and told her to settle down on the couch that Santana stopped standing awkwardly in the hallway and moved fully into the living room. After five minutes, as Brittany wasn't coming back, Santana ventured further into the apartment. She found Brittany making what seemed to be two cups of hot beverage. Santana knew that if she was to make a move, it was now or never. She quietly walked into the room, and stood behind Brittany. Sliding both of her arms around the blonde, she placed her hands on the counter and pushed her body close enough to the blonde to be able to hear her breath hitch.

"Hey," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Hi," Brittany replied, stopping what she was doing and shuddering at how raspy the Latina's voice sounded.

"Are we okay?" It was a question that had been on Santana's mind ever since she had seen the blonde's sadly looking at her and Noah. Sure, she had things to fix with Noah, but she didn't want it to jeopardize her friendship with the blonde.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asked, unable to keep her body from fidgeting.

"I mean," Santana repeated, "are we okay?" As she emphasized the _we_, the Latina put her hands on Brittany's hips to keep her from moving before hugging her, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder blade.

Brittany audibly sighed, before letting the nervousness leave her body and relaxing into the singer's embrace. "Yeah," the blonde finally answered while putting her hands atop Santana's intertwined ones on her stomach.

"Yeah?" Santana repeated, surprised both by Brittany's answer and gesture. When the blonde nodded, she felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. The two women stood there silently, just enjoying the other's warmth for some more time. It was funny really how easy it was between them, how this closeness seemed normal and didn't freak either of them out. At some point, Brittany started moving her hands again to finish her former task, but she was more than happy when the Latina didn't move. Santana only let go when Brittany suggested that they returned to the living room to drink their hot chocolate. Almost naturally, the two girls sat close, Brittany spreading a blanket over both of them.

As much as she enjoyed the peaceful silence, Brittany took her turn to address the elephant in the room. "So, Noah, huh?"

Santana looked up from where she had snuggled against the blonde after she had finished her drink. "What about him?"

"You guys seemed pretty cozy," Brittany simply stated, trying her best not to show any emotion.

Santana smiled as she figured where this conversation was coming from. "Jealous much?" she asked as she snuggled back into the blonde. Brittany only hummed neither confirming nor declining the fact though the answer was clear in both of their minds. "What about you, huh?" Santana continued with a smile. "Rory, right?"

Brittany smiled at how obvious they were both being. "Jealous much?"

"Of your leprechaun of a boyfriend?" Santana scoffed. "Please, no."

The photographer couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculous nickname. "He's not my boyfriend," she eventually admitted.

Santana's brows furrowed as she sat up softly. "He isn't?"

"Nope." Santana seemed relieved and a smile appeared on her face. _Score_, Brittany thought. _Not jealous, my ass_.

Brittany's smile soon faltered as she remembered the raven haired girl did have a boyfriend. After a while, Santana announced she would be getting home, and Brittany made no move to stop her. She needed to stop this, and she knew she needed to forget Santana but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't. Her face, her deep chocolate eyes, her beautiful red lips, all of the Latina was engraved in Brittany's mind... and heart? She didn't want to think too far quite yet. Sh soon fell asleep from exhaustion, not even bothering to move to her room.


End file.
